The Pukekohe Lions club inaugural “wheels of fortune” vehicle display on May 8th at Pukekohe racecourse was billed as a massive vehicle extravaganza for the whole family, and they delivered. The Lions gathered a diverse selection of vehicles which they described as “past & present”, “original & modified”, “slow & fast” and “classic & unique” and they certainly gathered some of each. Add the other entertainment on the day with fantastic food on offer and it made for a great day out.

There was a huge line up with over 1200 cars and special interest vehicles around the track and in the pit areas with displays from numerous clubs and organisations including Franklin Street Rodders, the American Muscle Car Club, Iron Sands Rod & Custom, HSV Club, Zephyr and Zodiac, Mini, MG, Military vehicles, Coast Guard, Fire Service, St John and many more. There was also part of Dave Parkers amazing car collection, with 11 of his 18 classic cars on display.

In addition to the fine line up of cars there was a good selection of food and beverages, music by Tuakau country variety music club and the Sunset coast big band and several VIP guests including Auckland mayor Len Brown, TVNZ’s Mark Sainbury, and local MP Paul Hutchison wandering around and being interviewed over the P.A. (more…)

This Sunday (May 8), Pukekohe Park Raceway will host the Wheels of Fortune event which is about cars and also about raising some money for charities.

Over 1,000 vehicles have registered for a massive car display or all types of machines. Classic, modern, original, modified and race machines are all coming out to show off their sheetmetal for charity. There will also be commercial exhibitors and the Roaring Forties warbirds acrobatic team will be flying overhead to entertain the crowds. VIP guests will include Jan McLaren, Peggy Bourne, Greeta Hulme and Paul Fahey, Auckland Mayor Len Brown and TV commentator Mark Sainsbury will also be in attendance.

There will be food stalls to keep the kids quiet and family focused entertainment. Proceeds from the event will go to the Fire Brigade, Police, St Johns Ambulance, Coast Guard and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter. (more…)

Pukekohe’s ‘Thunder in the Park’ weekend, and the fourth round of the 2010/11 IRC Series, treated fans to plenty of close racing and high speed action across ten diverse race classes.

Having gained a reputation in recent seasons as being a highlight of the New Zealand motorsport calendar, the 2010 Thunder in the Park event did little to disappoint, with Sunday in particular set under terrific weather conditions with the sun beating down upon the 200 plus entries scattered throughout the Pukekohe Park pit complex.

The inclusion of former NZV8 and Toyota Racing Series champions Kayne Scott and Earl Bamber into the GT1 class was the focus of many as the pair did battle at the front of the field in their Tranzam machines.

Despite setting blistering lap times (Scott with a 54.5 second lap in the final handicap race) Bamber failed to finish all three races, with Scott also DNFing the opening two, citing car trouble around the high speed, high risk Pukekohe circuit.

This left John Rae, Grant Brennan and GT2 class runner Graeme Barnes to share the three race wins; GT2 drivers Barnes and Jon Telford finishing in the top two positions in the final race after the weekend was initially dominated by Brian Gray and ‘The Metalman’ Clark Proctor.

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The 2010/11 IRC Series arrives at Pukekohe Park this weekend for the ‘Thunder in the Park’ event. Remaining true to its tradition of providing a huge variety of vehicles and numbers, the 2010 Thunder in the Park event has attracted over 215 entries across its ten competing classes.

Large crowds are expected to witness the action in the scorching Auckland heat that is forecast for the weekend’s racing.

The Pukekohe round of the IRC Series marks the halfway point in the 2010/11 championships, with hard-fought rounds already contested at Manfeild and Taupo, and a Trophy Round at Hampton Downs in November giving drivers a chance to test the limits of their machines on three diverse circuits each with their own unique character.

But Pukekohe Park is another beast altogether. As one of the fastest race circuits in the world with agonisingly long straights and fast sweeping corners riddled with bumps and undulation, drivers will have to be on their toes to keep their machines facing in the right direction this weekend.

Given the nature of the Pukekohe circuit, a draw card for the event is most certainly the big power, big noise and big excitement of the GT1, GT2, GTRNZ and Muscle Car classes.

Some of the country’s fastest saloon cars will line up including a number of ex-V8 Supercars, Chev Camaros and Corvettes, Andy Greenslade’s new Jaguar XKR and Clarke Proctor’s giant killing turbocharged Ford Escort.

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Top racing driver Tim Edgell started his fourth season in the tough BNT V8s Championship strongly with a podium position at the season opening round which took place from 5 to 7 November at Pukekohe Park Raceway.

Edgell delivered a trademark tidy, fast performance in the Chesters Ford to secure second, third and eighth in the three races which comprise each round of the nationwide NZV8 touring car series. These three excellent placings means the former Formula Ford champion currently holds third on the leader-board.

“We’re only four points off the leader, Angus Fogg, so that shows how close this racing is and it’s an excellent way for our team to start the season,” said Edgell, who finished last season’s NZV8 series fourth overall.

The North Shore-based Edgell was particularly pleased to be so competitive at the first event of the seven-round championship as he said he hasn’t done a lot of driving over the winter, particularly compared to the two main competitors, John McIntyre and Craig Baird, who he was racing against at the front of the field.

“For Saturday’s qualifying, the car had good balance and showed good speed,” said Edgell modestly after topping the 21-strong field during the one 20-minute qualifying session with his lap time of 1:01.342.

His flying lap in the top ten shootout was even faster, a time of 1:01.117, but it wasn’t quite fast enough to stop two-time NZV8 champ McIntyre taking pole position for the opening race of the season with Edgell alongside on the front row.

“I put together a nice tidy lap and I was still on the front row for Sunday,” said Edgell.

“First race, and as we came around for the rolling start, I saw the start lights go out earlier than usual and I was on the gas. For a moment I wondered if I’d made a false start, but I made the most of it and got ahead of Johnny Mac into the first sweeper.”

Edgell led the field for three laps, but “…was struggling for drive out of the hairpin and John had the speed, so I gave him room to pass. From then, I was pretty much on a par with John to come home for second with Craig behind me.”

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John McIntyre took the first two victories of the new season of NZV8 touring car racing at Pukekohe this weekend (6 and 7 November) and, despite a crash in the third race, holds fourth place overall.

“The fact is we were dominant through the majority of this opening round,” said the two-time NZV8 champion. “With two race wins to our credit, we’ve been able to stay in touch with the three guys in front of us on the leader-board despite not finishing the weekend’s reverse grid race.”

After setting pole with an ultra-quick time during Saturday’s top ten shootout, McIntyre made the most of the opportunity to run at the front of the field for the first two 12-lap races and secure the maximum points — 75 points for each victory.

However the first race almost didn’t go to McIntyre’s plan as fellow front row runner Tim Edgell got the jump on McIntyre as the starting lights went out early while the pair led the field down to the start-finish line for the rolling start.

“I was hoping to control the race right from the outset, but was caught by surprise when the race started early. Tim got in front and led for a couple of laps while I worked out we had a strong car through certain parts of the circuit. With a switchover move at the hairpin on the third lap, Tim gave me plenty of room to pass, and then I was able to pull away and do what I needed to do to win. I wasn’t pushing very hard at the end and was happy with the car’s performance and new brake package. It was very consistent.”

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Kiwi V8 racing fans will be getting set to head out to Pukekohe Park Raceway this weekend for the opening round of the seven round 2010 / 2011 BNT V8s Championship — The Fujitsu 200. Typically, the start of the season has rolls around quickly as drivers and teams have  spent the winter months negotiating sponsorships while mechanics re-engineered or rebuilt cars for the new season.

Without doubt the favourite for the championship is bound to be defending champ Craig Baird driving the familiar United Video Falcon. Having not only won two major titles last season including the BNT V8s, he also collected an honour in the Queen’s New Year list to cap off the perfect season. “Bairdo” will be a tough customer to crack and his ability to outwit other drivers and capitalise on any mistakes will again be a feature of his campaign.

Chasing Baird all the way will be former champion John McIntyre who is probably still fuming from his title destroying crash at Timaru last season. Fresh from an impressive V8 Supercars endurance campaign with Stone Brothers Racing, “Johnny Mac” will be determined to reclaim the coveted crown. Having dominated the opening half of the 2011 championship, expect him to again push his Blackwoods Paykels Protector Safety Falcon from the outset.

Kayne Scott is another returning champion who will be looking to improve from his quiet campaign last season. Usually a front runner and with renewed enthusiasm, Scott will be determined to win races again rather that rely on consistency and with his new look Fujitsu Heat Pumps Falcon is bound to show the form which has seen him as the man to beat over recent seasons.

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The 2010/2011 season of the BNT V8s Championship is almost here and race teams have spent the winter months reviewing their performances from last season’s races and re-engineering or obtaining new cars in the hope of gaining that extra edge.

With the opening round at Pukekohe Park Raceway only a few weeks away, initial testing has commenced with 14 cars attending pre-season testing at Pukekohe last Friday.

Unfortunately, the reigning champion Craig Baird was unable to attend owing to prior commitments in Australia although his rebuilt Falcon was present to undergo some slow “shake-down” laps by team owner Garry Pedersen. Championship runner-up John McIntyre was present in his new liveried Blackwood-Paykels Falcon as was Kayne Scott with the new look Fujitsu Heat Pumps Falcon.

Other drivers running were Tim Edgell, Angus Fogg, Haydn MacKenzie, Simon Richards, Martin Short and William Bamber – all in Falcons together with Andy Booth, John Penny, Andrew Anderson, Paul Manuell and Nick Ross driving Commodores. Others present but not driving included Australian V8 Supercar driver Jason Bargwanna, Eddie Bell and Christina Orr.

Competitive lap times were not the purpose of the test as most discussion centred around one of the biggest technical advances the category has seen namely newer, bigger and better brakes technology. The new package is again provided by American based company Performance Friction Brakes who have provided a standard package especially for the BNT V8s category.

The biggest improvement is the increase in rotor sizes from 328mm to 355mm (front) and 310mm to 323mm (rear) using single piece monoblock four piston calipers on all four wheels. The same brake pad compound will be used front and rear with pad thicknesses increased to 29mm (front) and 19mm (rear).

The objective of the new technology is to allow cars to squat more evenly under heavy braking and reduce nose diving at the front preventing the rear to break loose. The new pads should also see cars completing a full race weekend on a single set thus reducing costs. Drivers testing on Friday have already provided positive feedback on having a firmer brake pedal and more confidence under braking.

The end result for the driver is later and more stable braking while the advantage for spectators will undoubtedly be more dramatic overtaking under braking and entering corners. However, drivers are now faced with the task of re-evaluating their braking points for each of the seven circuits being used in the series.

The controlled compound Dunlop racing tyres remain the same as last season which will add another factor into sorting the braking characteristics. The only other technical changes involve the Commodores changing back to adjustable bottom front suspension arms and an additional two inch front air duct necessary to cope with the larger brakes. The Falcons remain the same but with the front brake air duct increasing to five inches diameter

Further testing can continue being carried out by BNT V8 Championship contenders in both the North and South islands until the Friday before the opening round.

The only change in the standard race weekend format will be qualifying where drivers will undertake a single 20 minute qualifying session followed by the highly popular top-ten shoot out. The seven round championship commences at Pukekohe on November 6th-7th and concludes at the ITM 400 V8 Supercar weekend at Hamilton on April 15th-17th.